Why Solana's Fastest Traders Abandoned It—And Built Fogo Instead | Robert Sagurton
April 7, 2026
Purpose-Built Trading Infrastructure Is Reshaping DeFi And Centralized Exchanges Should Be Nervous
In the first episode of Open Interest, a new series under GigaBrain Podcast, host Abishek Kannan sits down with Robert Sagurton, founder of Fogo, to explore why specialized blockchain architecture designed for trading will outcompete generalized layer-ones and how physical infrastructure has b
What if the future of crypto trading looked more like traditional finance but actually worked better?
In this episode, Abishek Kannan sits down with Robert Sagurton, founder of Fogo, to explore why Solana failed as a trading L1, how purpose-built blockchains are capturing market share from centralized exchanges, and why sub-second settlement and composable ecosystems represent the next frontier for DeFi. Whether you're a trader seeking to understand the infrastructure powering the next generation of perp DEXs or a builder evaluating where to launch your next project, this conversation breaks down the latency, architecture, and validator colocation strategies that separate winners from losers and reveals why Fogo's "follow the sun" validator model could reshape how we trade across global markets. Tune in to discover how blockchains can finally compete with Wall Street on execution while winning on the pre- and post-trade advantages that only decentralization can provide.
In this episode, Abishek Kannan sits down with Robert Sagurton, founder of Fogo, to explore why Solana failed as a trading L1, how purpose-built blockchains are capturing market share from centralized exchanges, and why sub-second settlement and composable ecosystems represent the next frontier for DeFi. Whether you're a trader seeking to understand the infrastructure powering the next generation of perp DEXs or a builder evaluating where to launch your next project, this conversation breaks down the latency, architecture, and validator colocation strategies that separate winners from losers and reveals why Fogo's "follow the sun" validator model could reshape how we trade across global markets. Tune in to discover how blockchains can finally compete with Wall Street on execution while winning on the pre- and post-trade advantages that only decentralization can provide.
What You'll Learn:
- Why latency parity between market participants matters more than absolute speed
- How "follow the sun" validator architecture unlocks real-world asset trading
- The settlement advantage that justifies decentralized trading over centralized exchanges
- Why composability between a unified settlement layer and purpose-built perp DEXs creates an unfair advantage
- How physical colocation in hub infrastructure democratizes access to institutional-grade trading conditions
- The case for retail traders winning when you optimize for liquidity providers first
Robert Sagurton is the founder and leader of Fogo, a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain optimized for trading. With a distinguished background spanning traditional finance including roles in foreign exchange trading systems, prime brokerage, and exchange infrastructure at JPMorgan and crypto expertise gained through five years at Jump Trading, Sagurton brings unparalleled technical and operational depth to blockchain development. He is a key architect of Fogo's infrastructure-first approach, championing innovations such as the Hub's sub-microsecond validator colocation and FIFO ordering mechanisms that rival centralized exchanges while maintaining blockchain composability. In this episode, Sagurton articulates why purpose-built blockchains outperform generalist L1s for trading, shares the critical role of physical infrastructure in achieving trading performance, and details Fogo's vision for capturing TradFi liquidity through superior execution and settlement efficiency. His insights on pre- and post-trade advantages of decentralization, composability between trading protocols, and the strategic importance of validator proximity to price discovery venues provide actionable context for understanding next-generation DeFi infrastructure. Sagurton's work represents a paradigm shift in how blockchain developers approach trading, moving beyond code optimization to embrace the full stack of hardware, networking, and architectural design that defines institutional-grade markets.
Visit Rob Sag's own show here.
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